Benefits claimants will be allowed to use taxpayers’ money to pay to have
tattoos removed, it has been revealed.

Jobcentre staff have been told that they are free to use public money to fund tattoo removal if the inking is preventing a jobseeker taking up employment.

At least one person has already benefited from the policy and been given money to fund laser removal treatment.

Darra Singh, the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, said that his staff are permitted to fund removal “in exceptional circumstances”.

Mr Singh said: “There is no automatic entitlement, but where an adviser deems the removal of tattoos as necessary to facilitate the take-up of a specific job offer and the cost represents good value for taxpayer’s money, an award could be made. I envisage this only being in exceptional circumstances.”

Mr Singh said that his organisation does not keep detailed records on how many times public money has been used to fund tattoo removal.

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However, he said he was aware of a case in 2002 where a benefits claimant was “allocated financial support to have tattoos removed.”

The payment was made after a Jobcentre manager decided that a jobseeker should qualify to make use of “funds available to provide additional support to help customers overcome things standing directly in the way of securing employment”.

Mr Singh revealed the policy in a letter to David Ruffley, a Conservative MP.

Mr Ruffley said that recipients should be asked to contribute towards the costs of any removal treatment.

“Tattoos are very expensive to have done in the first place so I think it is completely reasonable from the taxpayer’s point of view to get individuals to help pay for the removal of unsightly tattoos,” he said. “It is spending like this does really raise the eyebrows of the average taxpayer.”

Once regarded as the preserve of sailors and criminals, tattoos have grown in popularity and are now seen as socially acceptable in some circles.

Several members of the House of Commons, for example, sport tattoos, as does Samantha Cameron, the wife of the Prime Minister.

Some surveys have suggested that as many as a quarter of the adult population of Britain now have some form of permanent tattoo.

The number of licensed tattoo parlours is said to have grown from barely 50 in the 1970s to around 1,000 today.

However, many employers still have reservations about people with prominent or extensive tattoos.

The British Army, for instance, rejects would-be recruits who have tattoos visible on the head and neck. Many other employers reject applicants with tattoos on their hands.

In recent years, a number of charities have been set up to help people remove tattoos that make it hard for them to get or keep jobs.

Skin Clinics, a private firm providing laser treatment to remove tattoos, last year claimed that around 25 per cent of people who have tattoos later regret the decision and consider removal.

Private treatment sessions can cost around £100, with large or stubborn tattoos commonly requiring at least 15 sessions.

Some reports suggest the National Health Service is now spending around £40 million on tattoo removal treatments.

According to the Department of Health, tattoo removal may be available on the National Health Service, subject to local primary care trust policies and if a doctor decides that an individual patient's health requires the treatment.

Since last year, a number of health trusts are understood to have stopped funding for “cosmetic” treatments including tattoo removals, in order to save money.